When He's sad
by purpleflower362
Summary: They love each other. Reyna needs him to lighten up her life, and Leo needs her to keep his feet on the ground. But when Leo is sad, what happens to her? Collection of one-shots, rated T for possible later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up one night to the sound of crying. Next to me, Leo Valdez sobbed quietly. I felt the pull at my heart I always felt during these nights when I saw Leo sad. But I immediately regained my composure. I was Reyna Valdez. I showed no weaknesses. Pain, memories, sadness. They all escaped through weaknesses.

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled his body closer to mine. He stopped for a moment when he realized I was awake, but when I stroked his hair and hugged him tight, he began to cry harder. It was at night when his shield of emotions betrayed him. During the day, he enveloped himself in a fragile shell of humor, to mask what only I could see lay beneath.

He was sad, so sad. Things had cut him so deep there would always be a huge scar. But of course, he wouldn't admit that. He wouldn't even dare to show weakness, because weaknesses could be used against him. And he knew that all too well. But he could tell me, he could show me. And that made me happy. I was determined to heal him the best I could.

He rolled over so he was facing me, tears rolling down his cheeks, the most terrible look I could ever think of displayed on his face. He crashed his lips to mine, desperation, need, loneliness all displayed in a single kiss. I returned passionately, wrapping my arms around his neck. He pulled back and studied my face hungrily, as if I was the only human left on earth.

"I love you," I whispered to him. He buried his head in my chest and started to cry. And I didn't say anything. Because I knew that words weren't what healed. Being there, listening, hugging, loving, that was what healed. So I let him lay there, crying, being sad. And I knew that he was healing. The hurt in his life was being replaced by love. So I cried with him, too, hoping to get rid of the rigid bitterness of life.


	2. Chapter 2

We were all talking, the lovebirds. Frank and Hazel, Jason and Piper, Percy and Annabeth, along with Leo and I. And then it happened. Not the first time, no. His eyes got wide while sadness seeped into his expression. And I knew what was happening.

Every so often, the simplest thing would send back a flood of memories. His mother's death, his family disowning him, his multiple foster homes, feeling like an outcast his entire life. It would send him into a world of shock and depression. And there was no way you could get him back. All you could do was wait. Wait and wait, hoping against hope he would be ok.

I quickly excused me and my husband, pulling him to the back of the building. He slowly slid to the ground, the tears already starting in a steady stream. He stared blankly into space, not moving, not speaking, just crying. I sat down next to him, waiting. Because I knew that that was all I would be able to do.

After... how long was it? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Days? It was hard to tell. But he came out of shock. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. His eyes fell on me, and I smiled. A smile that was filled with worry, happiness. He smiled back, a sad little smile, and wrapped his arms around me. I leaned against his shoulder and sighed.

"You have to tell them, you know. You can't keep this secret forever." Leo sighed, and on his face was a look of no hope.

"I know. But it's hard. So hard. They have no idea. They wouldn't understand." He stopped and looked at me. "Not the way you do."

I smiled at him. I started to whisper, calming words in Spanish, the way I always did when he was sad.

"Leo, mi amor, mi corazón, siempre estará ahí cuando lo necesite. Sin embargo, usted, el amor de mi vida, debe ser lo suficientemente valientes como para dejar que otras personas pulg.Tú eres mi fuerte león, y te amo." He smiled at me. I smiled back. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to mine, a sweet, fairytale kiss, complete with the beautiful sunset. I pulled back and gently laid my head onto his lap. He started to play with my hair, and I felt happy. My heart seemed to well with joy, and I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face for the life of me.

"Leo? Reyna? Are you out here?" My moment of bliss was cut off by a curly blond head, poking around the corner. Annabeth finally saw us, and looked surprised and slightly confused for a moment. She seemed to catch on to the mood, though, and her voice was much gentler as she spoke again.

"We were wondering if you would come in again. We were worried sick when you just left like that." I smiled at her, nodding.

"We'll come back in a few moments." She smiled and headed back inside. I looked at Leo, asking a silent question. After a few moments, he nodded his head.

"They deserve to know," he told me.

"Mi valiente león," I said, smiling. We stood up and headed back inside, hand in hand.

**What do you think? I personally love this story, not because I wrote it, but because it shows the sad side of such an upbeat person and the only one who can help him through it. And, just to be sure that you guys read the AN, people who do read this can write a couple for a romantic one-shot, and I'll choose one to write. And I will only update if 5 people put in a couple, so tell people to read the AN! See you later.**

**~purpleflower362**


	3. Hello? Anyone read the author's note?

**So, um, guys, I bet you're wondering why this isn't a chapter. Well, if you had read the author's note last chapter, you would know. Go on. Read it. and when you do, you'll understand why I'm mad and haven't posted a chapter. I'm going to be doing this randomly during the story, so, always read the author's note! I have another chapter ready, I'm just waiting for you.**

**~purpleflower362**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok guys, to address any confusion, this is when they first got together. Just getting that out of the way. And a warning, things get a little heated, so if you feel offended or uncomfortable with that kind of stuff, don't read. In other news, I've picked my couple! And the winner is... drumroll please... badadadadadada crash!... Gwekota! Thank you to that lucky guest! I'll be working on it for a while, but should be out in about a week.**

**~purpleflower362**

Leo POV

He sat, staring up at the stars. The war was over. They had won. All of his friends had lived. Then why was he so sad? He had everything, a home, a family, a dragon head, why was he so unhappy? This was the question he kept asking himself, but deep down, he already knew the answer. He had no one. Jason had Piper. Percy had Annabeth. Frank had Hazel. Travis had Katie. Conner had Lou. Will had Nyssa. Jake had Miranda. Why didn't he have someone?

But he knew the answer to that question as well. Holding his palm out in front of him, he watched as a small fire flickered to life. He was a lost little boy, that was it, attempting to navigate the world with only a small flame. The only person he had now was Reyna. And if he ever told her how he actually felt, he was sure she wouldn't feel the same and all it would do was ruin their friendship. He couldn't risk that. He looked down at his hand again. The fire seemed to mock him, dancing, twisting, uncatchable. Fire was the reason he was alone. Fire had killed everything.

He clenched his fist, extinguishing the small light. But someone had already seen it.

**Reyna POV**

She walked alone in the woods. The woods at Camp Half-Blood. She sighed. After destroying most of her home, the Greeks had proposed that instead of repairing Camp Jupiter, the Romans build an addition to Camp Half-Blood, with a military camp and a city that would be available to Greeks and Romans. She didn't want to leave her home, but everyone else loved the idea, and as a leader, she did what her people wanted. So she moved from sunny California to busy New York. And she hated it.

She kicked a stone. It didn't solve her problems. She kicked a branch. It didn't solve her problems. She kicked a tree. It didn't solve her problems. She sighed, laying down on the soft forest floor. She missed her old home. She admitted, it was nice to get to know the people in this camp. She didn't care much for those Stoll brothers, they were too out of line, but other than that, everyone had been kind and welcoming to the Romans. Especially Leo Valdez.

At first, she had avoided him. She knew he had been possessed when he attacked her camp, but she didn't think she could trust herself not to hurt him if she got to close. But as time went on, she realized that there was no way he could have fired on her camp on purpose. They grew closer, the two loners, best friends. She noticed something enchanting about him. His curly hair, his dimples when he smiled. The way he tried to braid her hair, the look of concentration he got when he was working on something in the forges. It had only been 4 months, but she felt so close to him, like it had been a lifetime.

Now, whenever she saw him, she couldn't help but smile, and there was a feeling in her stomach she couldn't quite describe. She had started to laugh again, started to let love in after shutting it out for so long. Everyone had noticed a difference in their praetor.

Sighing yet again, she tried to think of what to do. She had something with Leo, she knew that. But what if he didn't feel the same? Not only would she be destroyed, but it would ruin her friendship with him. And besides, she had been determined not to "crush" on anyone again after Jason had broken her heart. Yet every time she thought of Leo, her heart seemed to well with joy and butterflies started to flutter in her stomach. This was different than what she had with Jason. That was something she thought should happen, this was something she wanted, no, she needed to happen.

She got up, not exactly sure as to what she would do, when something caught her eye. A flicker of light, an elfish face. Leo. She started in his direction, and found herself in a clearing with the boy who had stolen her heart.

He had his back to her, sitting on the mossy ground. He clenched his fist, putting out the flame, and looked up at the sky.

"What's up?" she asked, sitting next to him. He jumped a little, but when he saw who it was, he relaxed.

"Nothing," he said. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Leo. We both know I know you better than that," she said. Leo didn't say anything, just continued to look up at the stars. Finally, he sighed.

"It's just that, sometimes, I feel alone in the world. All of my other friends have stopped focusing on me. They always want to spend "quality time" with their girlfriend or boyfriend. No time for the idiot repair boy. He wouldn't understand. He has no one." He said all this in one breath, his voice steadily growing angrier, until his voice cracked on the last sentence and he became silent once again. Reyna looked at him, surprised. She had never seen him like this before. He had a brooding look on his face, but underneath that she could see his sadness, his loneliness.

"You have me," she said quietly. He turned his head to look at her, and in that moment, she made an impulse decision. She closed the space between their lips. When he kissed her back, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Kissing her with all his pent-up frustration, he circled his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

Kissing Leo was not what she would have imagined. The feeling of his lips against hers seemed to ignite a flame in her stomach, burning slowly at first but getting hotter and brighter every second. She climbed onto his lap, straddling him, pulling him even closer. After a while, he gently pushed her down on the forest floor, making her squeal in surprise. But the good kind of surprise, she realized.

He was slowly moving his lips away from her mouth, kissing against her jaw line, down to the crook of her neck. When he got to the spot where her neck ended and her shoulder began, she gasped in surprise. He pulled back, worried.

"What is it?" he asked her. Then he realized she was trying to push him back down.

"Right there, oh, please, right there," she whispered, and Leo obliged, starting to suck on the sweet spot. Reyna knew she should stop him. Things were going to far. But it was so good, he was so good. They had both been holding the urge to do this back for a while now, and that kiss just broke the dam. She wouldn't be able to stop if she tried. Just being with Leo made her heart feel light and airy, but this was like Cloud 9.

Looking back on it, she supposed it was fortunate that Octavian interrupted them. She had no idea how far it would have gone if he hadn't. But at the time, it felt like a curse.

Reyna's hands had just started to sneak up Leo's shirt when they heard a shrill, "Praetor!"

Their heads snapped up, to see a skinny kid with straw like hair and a look of horror on her face.

"What- the audacity- Valdez- and you? What?" he spluttered while Reyna and Leo blushed furiously. Regaining his composure, Octavian put on a look of authority, crossing his arms and looking down at them.

"This is not the proper behavior for a praetor! Especially not with this, this, disgusting Graecus!" he screeched. Leo got to his feet, looking like he was ready to hit this guy.

"Hey man, for one, I helped save the freaking world. I think that upgrades me at least one notch above "disgusting Graecus." And for two, its not like you can stop us. All the other Romans have gotten over the fact that I was freaking possessed when I attacked your camp, and if me and Reyna want to date each other, then no one will have a problem with that." He stopped and looked at her. "You do want to date me, right? I didn't totally misread the situation?" he asked her. Reyna looked him like, "You're hopeless" and nodded. Leo smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Either way, Reyna must come with me. We must at least talk to Jason about this." And with that, he turned around and stalked out of the woods. Reyna turned and looked at him. He shrugged and smiled at her, like, "What could possibly go wrong?". She smiled at him, and then kissed his cheek, whispering in his ear, "You'll always have me. Remember that." And then she walked away, Leo still smiling, his hand on his cheek where she kissed him.


End file.
